NCJ Number
241432
Date Published
January 2012
Length
201 pages
Annotation
This dissertation examined and tested an alternative model for investigating the offending process of sexual homicide offenders.
Abstract
This study tested the validity and testability of an integrative model aimed at providing a criminological understanding of the sexual offending homicide process. Utilizing a dataset obtained by Canadian researchers for a previous study, this study found some support for the validity and testability of the proposed integrative model that uses concepts and propositions of social learning theory and routine activity theory. Two sets of findings resulted from the study: differences in demographic and psychological characteristics between homicidal and non-homicidal sex offenders, and the ability of the model to predict the lethal outcome of a sexual offense based on the results of four different step-wise logistic regression models. The findings suggest that sex offenders who kill are more likely to engage in deviant sexual fantasies than their non-homicidal counterparts, are significantly more likely to engage in at least one form of paraphilia compared to their non-homicidal counterparts, and that the presence or absence of a capable guardian or guardianship at the immediate crime scent was a significant factor in the survival rate of the victim. While these findings are important, they fail to confirm the theoretical framework of the proposed integrative model. Study limitations and implications of the findings are discussed. Tables, figures, references, and appendixes